Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure
Encyclopedia
Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure is an IMAX
film about the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
led by Ernest Shackleton between 1914 and 1917. Directed by George Butler, the film was released in February 2001 and was narrated by Kevin Spacey
. It documents Shackleton's journey aboard the Endurance
and was the follow-up to Butler's previous film, The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
.
had already been discovered, people had yet to make the cross-continent trek on foot. Before making landfall, however, his ship became trapped in the ice-flow of the Weddell Sea
where he and his crew stayed for over 400 days.
.
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
film about the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition , also known as the Endurance Expedition, is considered the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent...
led by Ernest Shackleton between 1914 and 1917. Directed by George Butler, the film was released in February 2001 and was narrated by Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
. It documents Shackleton's journey aboard the Endurance
Endurance (1912 ship)
The Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition...
and was the follow-up to Butler's previous film, The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
The Endurance is a 2000 documentary film directed by George Butler about Ernest Shackleton's failed Antarctic expedition in 1914. The Endurance was the name of the ship of Shackleton's expedition.-Plot:...
.
Plot
In 1914, Shackleton set out to walk across the whole of Antarctica. While the South PoleSouth Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
had already been discovered, people had yet to make the cross-continent trek on foot. Before making landfall, however, his ship became trapped in the ice-flow of the Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...
where he and his crew stayed for over 400 days.
Cast
- Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
- Narrator (voice) - Michael GambonMichael GambonSir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
- Sir Ernest Shackleton (voice) - Conrad AnkerConrad AnkerConrad Anker is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author famous for his challenging ascents in the high Himalaya and Antarctica. He is a member of The North Face climbing team and also works closely with Timex Expedition as brand ambassador...
- Himself - Reinhold MessnerReinhold MessnerReinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol "whose astonishing feats on Everest and on peaks throughout the world have earned him the status of the greatest climber in history." He is renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without...
- Himself - Stephen VenablesStephen VenablesStephen Venables is a British mountaineer and writer, and is a past president of the South Georgia Association and of the Alpine Club.-Mountaineer:...
- Himself
Production
The film was shot on location in Antarctica and also utilizes footage taken by the original expedition photographer, Frank HurleyFrank Hurley
James Francis "Frank" Hurley, OBE was an Australian photographer and adventurer. He participated in a number of expeditions to Antarctica and served as an official photographer with Australian forces during both world wars.His artistic style produced many memorable images but he also used staged...
.
Critical reception
- The film received "Two Thumbs Up" by Ebert and Roeper.
- Rotten Tomatoes suggests it is "a gorgeously made film tracking the explorer's legendary 1914 expedition to the icey, uninhabited continent."
- Joe Leydon, in VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, suggests, "Despite its brevity, "Adventure" vividly conveys the character and courage of Shackleton, one of the last great champions of the Heroic Age of Adventure. Butler glosses over a few unpleasant details in this telling of the story—for the sake of school-aged sensibilities, he was requested to refrain from showing how crewmen were forced to kill sled dogs for food—but the story remains gripping nonetheless."